A HSE official has stated that meal deals in service stations, convenience stores and supermarkets should be banned.
Dr Donal O'Shea, who is the HSE clinical lead on obesity, said that such deals should "be illegal".
Speaking on Newstalk, he said: "The industry have the statistics and they know how to prompt and promote consumption. We just have to be super aware of that and try to resist it.
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"Those buy one get one free offers are always around the high fat, high salt, high sugar stuff, never around fruit."
He added: "Literally, that should be illegal.
"The people who are in the supermarkets - the workers - and the petrol stations, they're trained to offer that special offer.
"70% of people will say no the first time, but if the person behind the counter says 'well are you sure, it's a good offer'."
This comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) found the Covid-19 pandemic prompted a spike in unhealthy eating habits.
Dr Donal claims that Ireland is at "tipping point" when it comes to obesity in the country. New figures show 65% of Irish people are classed at overweight. Ireland's obesity is reported to be one of the highest in Europe.
A HSE spokesperson told Dublin Live: "Dietary factors are one of the most important risk factors undermining health and wellbeing in every country in the WHO European Region, including Ireland. Excess consumption of highly processed foods and foods high in fats salt and sugar (vegan or otherwise) and low consumption of vegetables and fruits contribute to this and are leading risk factors for chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
"The Irish Healthy Food for Life guidelines consider that these foods are not essential for a healthy diet and may promote overweight and obesity. Most Irish people need to cut down on them drastically to achieve a healthy balanced diet.
"Over 1/3 of Irish adults consume two or more unhealthy snack foods daily with a further 24% consuming one unhealthy snack daily. The Irish Healthy Food for Life guidelines recommend that these should be limited to sometimes and only in small amounts – not every day, a maximum of once or twice a week."
They continue: "Many in-store meal deals involve price bundling and primary promotion of high fat, salt, sugar products with more nutritious foods. While healthier options like water or fruit within the meal deal may also be on offer – it is rare to see these as the primary focus of the meal deal promotion. This marketing practice influences consumers purchasing behaviour, resulting in the purchase and consumption of excess calories and less healthy foods.
"Over time this has a direct impact on health and wellbeing, contributing to poorer diet and the development of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and obesity."
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